Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Family of 4 Indicted for $550K Insurance Fraud Scheme in West Virginia

Dec 4 2017 // A man, his ex-wife and two sons are accused of burning down two West Virginia homes and pocketing over $550,000 in insurance claims. Windel Lester, his ex-wife Georgetta Lester, and his sons Gregory A. Lester and James...

Miner Dies on Blackhawk Mining Property in West Virginia

Dec 1 2017 // West Virginia mining officials say that a 28-year-old equipment operator for a coal mining company has died.The Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says the incident occurred about 3 p.m. Tuesday on...

Ex-Coal Boss Blankenship Announces U.S. Senate Run From West Virginia

Nov 30 2017 // Donald Blankenship, the former Massey Energy chief executive who went to prison in the wake of a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29, plans to run for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia.Blankenship is filing election papers...

$4M West Virginia Diesel Spill Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval

Nov 28 2017 // A judge has given preliminary approval to a $4 million class action settlement over a January 2015 tanker truck diesel fuel spill in southern West Virginia that briefly shut down tap water supplies for about 12,000...

Lawsuits Filed Over West Virginia Warehouse Fire

Nov 28 2017 // Three lawsuits seeking damages following the industrial warehouse fire that burned for a week in Parkersburg have been moved from state to federal court. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the defendants sought the...

Family of 4 Indicted for $550K Insurance Fraud Scheme in West Virginia

Nov 22 2017 // A man, his ex-wife and two sons are accused of burning down two West Virginia homes and pocketing over $550,000 in insurance claims.The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports 66-year-old Windel Lester, his ex-wife, 41-year-old...

Officials: Warehouse Fire Could Cost West Virginia County $1.5M

Nov 9 2017 // County officials say the cost of the response to a warehouse fire in West Virginia is already more than $1 million.The Parkersburg News and Sentinel quotes Wood County Commission president Blair Couch in a Tuesday report...

West Virginia Cities Sue Health Care Accreditors for Downplaying Opioid Risk

Nov 7 2017 // Several West Virginia municipalities are suing The Joint Commission, claiming the Chicago-based health care accreditation group downplayed the dangers of prescription painkillers and helped fuel addictions. The Charleston...

Large Warehouse Fire in West Virginia Finally Extinguished After 8 Days

Oct 31 2017 // West Virginia emergency officials say a large warehouse fire is fully extinguished more than a week after it broke out. The state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety says it was informed by Lubeck Fire Chief...

Investigators Probe Death of Miner at West Virginia Coal Processing Plant

Oct 25 2017 // State and federal investigators are trying to determine what killed a 48-year-old miner found Monday at a coal mining operation in Raleigh County.James Ray Adkins of Colcord, West Virginia, was discovered missing at...

3 Arrested For Stealing $13K in Equipment From West Virginia Coal Company

Oct 23 2017 // Authorities have arrested three people after a burglary at a southern West Virginia coal company.Wyoming County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jimmy White tells The Register-Herald the department heard two masked people were...

Trump Nominee for Mine Safety Post Is Retired Coal Executive

Oct 23 2017 // The retired coal company executive from West Virginia chosen by Republican President Trump to oversee U.S. mining safety says his first priority is preventing people from getting hurt and that he replaced the managers of a...

Residents Begin Filing Claims for West Virginia Chemical Spill

Oct 17 2017 // Residents and businesses in nine West Virginia counties left without tap water during a 2014 chemical spill can start filing claims.According to a website set up to handle claims, forms were being accepted both online and...

West Virginia Men Sentenced for Claims in Staged Car Accidents

Oct 11 2017 // Two West Virginia men have been sentenced for their roles in filing false insurance claims for vehicle accidents.Federal prosecutors say the accidents were staged from 2012 to 2014 in Taylor, Harrison and Marion counties....

More Work Still Needed to Rebuild West Virginia Town

Oct 10 2017 // It has been two months since heavy rain swelled the waters of Fish Creek and drenched the town of Hundred, West Virginia, and its residents under several feet of water.The night it happened is stuck in the minds of first...

Report: West Virginia Workers’ Comp Costs Drop, But Still Highest in U.S.

Oct 9 2017 // Workers’ compensation benefits and employer costs in West Virginia have dropped sharply compared to the rest of the U.S., but remain nearly twice as high as the national average, according to a report released...

West Virginia Tops State Farm List of Deer-Car Crashes, Again

Oct 6 2017 // For the 11th consecutive year, West Virginia has topped State Farm’s list for the likelihood of vehicles crashes involving deer.Using claims data, the Bloomington, Illinois-based insurer released its annual deer...

Workers’ Comp Costs and Benefits Decline as a Share of Payroll: Study

Oct 4 2017 // Workers’ compensation employer costs as a share of payroll declined in 2015, reversing a four-year trend, and benefits as a share of payroll fell for the fourth straight year, according to a new report from the...

Federal Judge Tentatively Approves West Virginia Chemical Spill Settlement

Sep 25 2017 // A federal judge has tentatively approved a revised settlement to a class-action lawsuit over a West Virginia chemical spill that left up to 300,000 people without tap water for up to nine days.U.S. District Judge John...

High Levels of Mold, Carbon Dioxide Close West Virginia High School

Sep 21 2017 // A West Virginia high school will close for the rest of the week after high levels of mold and carbon dioxide were found inside nearly a third of its buildings. News outlets report Capital High School in Charleston...